E-Governance:
e-Governance is the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to provide government services, exchange information, conduct transactions, and integrate previously existing services and information portals.
The “e” in “e-Governance” refers for “electronic.”
The Government of India’s Mission e-Governance, in combination with Digital India, has undergone a paradigm shift. There is new thinking about how it engages with its citizens, as well as inter-state and inter-governmental functions. India has put healthcare, e-education, agricultural assistance, financial services, and other economic and social obligations on the mission.
e-governance includes the Digital India initiative, the National Portal of India, the Prime Minister of India’s portal, Aadhaar, online tax filing and payment, digital land management systems, the Common Entrance Test, and so on.
India has undertaken numerous initiatives over the years to promote e-Governance holistically and improve the distribution of public services to its citizens. Its main pillars have been people, processes, technology, and resources.
Features of E-Governance:
It has been proven from the concept of e-governance that it is a powerful means of public service in the present era. Some of its features can be found by observing the functioning of e-governance.
- De bureaucratization: Due to e-governance, the gap between the people and the government in all the services of the government is narrowing and the dependence of the people on the bureaucracy is also greatly reduced.
- E-Services: Its main feature is the provision of services through the Internet. As a result, we get G2C, G2B, G2E, etc. services. This is already discussed in the section of ‘types of governance’.
- International Services: through e-governance, all the essential services can be delivered to the citizens who are living outside of their country for job purposes or any other reasons.
- It enhances the right to express to the citizens. Using the means of e-governance anyone can share their views with the government on any bill or act or decision taken by the government.
- Economic Development: With the introduction of e-governance, various information like import-export, registration of companies, investment situations, etc. are available through the internet. As a result, time is saved, procrastination decreases, and economic dynamism increases.
- Reduce inequality: using e-governance tools everyone can gather information and empower themselves. In this globalized world, knowledge is power, and means of e-governance empower us by providing relevant information at minimal cost, effort, and time.
Need for e-governance:
E-government is the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in government services to increase the effectiveness of communication and transactions between citizens, businessman, and the government.
For government
It saves the cost of physical monitoring and administration and thus leads to cost saving for the government. Now there will be efficient usage of public funds as they will be less prone to neglect and waste expenses.
It will remove the barriers and make the government better at administration and thus result in better governance.
It will increase the data collection and thus will help the administration in better evaluation, implementation, and better scheme outcomes.
Public policies result in better outcomes and hence public trust in administration will also increase with the reduced gap because of minimum government and maximum governance.
Increased accountability, coordination, and communication will arise from efficient file transfers and work delegation.
It will lead to better accessibility as the online resources are easier to find and thus the issues of loss and duplication will be reduced.
Additionally, it will lower the time and resource costs associated with transactions between the government and its citizens.
For Citizens
It will empower the citizens to hold the government accountable for their work and policies, and thus increased transparency will lead to an empowered citizenry, as the digital services due to their inclusivity goes beyond the geographical barriers and thus increases the scope of governance.
e-Governance leads to speedy justice delivery and resolves grievances faster and thus increasing the public trust and faith in the governance system.
e-Governance reduces the gap between the citizens and the government to a large extent, especially those who are vulnerable and historically lacked access like women, Dalits, and tribals.
Women-centric schemes are better implemented and the data collection, on the implementation of schemes, crimes prevailing, trends followed, etc are better gathered through e governance, same is true for other sections of society.
For Business
It helps in ease of doing business by making the compliance and performance better. With digital resources the businesses can now expand their market and client base beyond the geographical barriers and thus leading to the country’s growth and development and balance of trade.
With a paperless economy and fewer physical requirements the process of setting, maintaining, and coordinating businesses have become better and faster and thus results in reduced delays.
It helps in the implementation and formation of government policies and their objectives by promoting productivity gains inherent in the ICT thus resulting in the development of all.
Definition and types of e-governance:
A new paradigm shift has been developed in the field of governance by the application of ICT in the processes of governing called Electronic-Governance or E-Governance.
E-governance raises the transparency, accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness and inclusiveness in the governing process in terms of reliable access to the information within government, between government, national, state, municipal, and local level governments, citizens, and businesses and empowers business through access and use of information
E-governance is not just about government websites or e-mail or financial transactions. “It will change how citizens relate to government as much as it changes how citizens relate to each other”. It also refers to the utilization of IT in the country’s democratic processes itself such as the election.
Objectives of E Governance:
The objectives of e governance are as follows-
- One of the basic objectives of e-governance is to make every information of the government available to all in the public interest.
- One of its goals is to create a cooperative structure between the government and the people and to seek help and advice from the people, to make the government aware of the problems of the people.
- To increase and encourage people’s participation in the governance process.
- e-Governance improves the country’s information and communication technology and electronic media, with the aim of strengthening the country’s economy by keeping governments, people and businesses in tune with the modern world.
- One of its main objectives is to establish transparency and accountability in the governance process.
- To reduce government spending on information and services.
Features of E governance:
It has been proven from the concept of e-governance that it is a powerful means of public service in the present era. Some of its features can be found by observing the functioning of e-governance.
- De bureaucratization: Due to e-governance, the gap between the people and the government in all the services of the government is narrowing and the dependence of the people on the bureaucracy is also greatly reduced.
- E-Services: Its main feature is the provision of services through the Internet. As a result, we get G2C, G2B, G2E, etc. services. This is already discussed in the section of ‘types of governance’.
- International Services: through e-governance, all the essential services can be delivered to the citizens who are living outside of their country for job purposes or any other reasons.
- It enhances the right to express to the citizens. Using the means of e-governance anyone can share their views with the government on any bill or act or decision taken by the government.
- Economic Development: With the introduction of e-governance, various information like import-export, registration of companies, investment situations, etc. are available through the internet. As a result, time is saved, procrastination decreases, and economic dynamism increases.
- Reduce inequality: using e-governance tools everyone can gather information and empower themselves. In this globalized world, knowledge is power, and means of e-governance empower us by providing relevant information at minimal cost, effort, and time.
Potential of e-governance in India:
- Increased effectiveness and efficiency: Improved government services in terms of accomplishing the government purpose and functioning
- Better services: E-government can provide quick and timely services to stakeholders
- Transparency by dissemination and publication of information on the web: This provides easy access to information and subsequently makes the system publicly accountable. Also as the web enables the free flow of information, it can be easily accessed by all without any discrimination.
- Accessible anytime and anywhere: As e-government services are provided through web-enabled technology they can be accessed anytime and anywhere
- User-centred ICT enabled services: The services are primarily intended for the use of citizens, businesses, and the government itself
- Reduced cost and time: As the services are provided through internet they are effective in terms of time and cost
- Economic Development: The deployment of ICTs reduces the transaction costs, which makes services cheaper. For example, rural areas suffer on account of lack of information regarding markets, products, agriculture, health, education, weather, etc. and if all this could be accessed online would lead to better and more opportunities and thereby prosperity in these areas.
- Social Development: The access to information empowers the citizens. The informed citizenry can participate and voice their concerns, which can be accommodated in the programme/ project formulation, implementation, monitoring and service delivery. Web-enabled participation will counter the discriminatory factors affecting our societal behaviour.
- Reduced bureaucracy: E-government minimizes hierarchy of authority for availing any government services
- Automation of Administrative Processes: A truly e-governed system would require minimal human intervention and would rather be system driven.
- Enhanced communication and coordination between government organizations: An automated services can be accessed by different organizations coordination and further communication became relative
- Paper Work Reduction: An immediate impact of automation would be on the paperwork. Paperwork is reduced to a greater extent with communication being enabled via electronic route and storage and retrieval of information in the electronic form. All this has led to the emergence of less paper office’.
- Quality of Services: ICT helps governments to deliver services to citizens with greater accountability responsiveness and sensitivity. Quality of services improves, as now the people are able to, get services efficiently and instantaneously.
- Elimination of Hierarchy: ICT has reduced procedural delays caused by hierarchical processes in the organisation. Through Intranet and LAN, it has become possible to send information and data across various levels in the organisation at the same time.
- Change in Administrative Culture: Bureaucratic structures have been plagued by characteristics aptly described by Victor Thompson as ‘bureau-pathology’. From the day s of New Public Administration, efforts have been made to find ways to deal with the pathological or dysfunctional aspects of art.
- Strategic Information System: Changing organisational environment and increasing competitiveness have put pressures on the performance of the functionaries. Information regarding all aspects needs to be made available to the management at every point to make routine as well as strategic decisions.
E-Governance related policies in India
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National e-Governance Plan (NeGP)
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· The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), takes a holistic view of e-Governance initiatives across the country, integrating them into a collective vision, a shared cause.
· National e-Governance Plan has been launched with the aim of improving delivery of Government services to citizens and businesses, · “Make all Public Services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common man.”
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e-Kranti – Electronic delivery of services
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· e-Kranti is an essential pillar of the Digital India initiative.
· The mission of e – Kranti is to ensure a government wide transformation by delivering all Government services electronically to the citizens through integrated and interoperable systems via multiple modes while ensuring efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at affordable costs.
Objectives of e-Kranti The objectives of ‘e-Kranti’ are as follows:
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E-governance related applications in Indian governance
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Government to Citizen (G2C) Initiatives
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· Bhoomi Project: Bhoomi is a flagship project of the Karnataka State Government. It was launched to digitize all land records in the state to prevent corruption and manipulation of data.
· Gyandoot: A project launched by the Madhya Pradesh government.It is a Mission Mode Project in which 2,50,000 Panchayati Raj Institutions were identified to deliver e-Governance services to rural populations. · Lokvani Project: Public-private partnership project at Sitapur District in Uttar Pradesh, to provide a single window, self-sustainable e-Governance solution with regard to handling of grievances, land record maintenance and providing a mixture of essential services. · Project FRIENDS in Kerala: FRIENDS (Fast, Reliable, Instant, Efficient Network for the Disbursement of Services) is a Single Window Facility providing citizens the means to pay taxes and other financial dues to the State Government. · e-Mitra Project in Rajasthan: Committed to quick and convenient delivery of citizen services, Government of Rajasthan
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Government to Business (G2B) Initiatives
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· e-Procurement Project in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat: To reduce the time and cost of doing business for both vendors and government.· MCA 21: By the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The project aims at providing easy and secure online access to all registry related services provided by the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs to corporates and other stakeholders at any time and in a manner that best suits them. |
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Government to Government (G2G) Initiatives
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· Khajane Project in Karnataka: It is a comprehensive online treasury computerization project of the Government of Karnataka.
· SmartGov (Andhra Pradesh): SmartGov has been developed to streamline operations, enhance efficiency through workflow automation and knowledge management for implementation in the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat.
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G2E (Government to Employee)
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Challenges of e-Governance
There will always be the risk of cybercrime and the private data of individuals and the state to be stolen. Along with this, there is a high cost of setting up the machines. The maintenance of such machines is also too high, making regular maintenance costs high. And many times the computers and the internet also break down resulting in delays in work.
Rural and remote areas of India still lack digital infrastructure and there persists the problem of the digital divide. Very less number of women have access to the internet, especially elderly women who don’t have proper access and understanding of the digital world.
It results in the loss of interpersonal relations, communications and the personal touch is missing which many people still consider very vital. Because of this and the change in the old system shows signs of many people being reluctant to its application.
There is a lack of uniformity as the different states follow different methods, lack of authority in dealing with the e-governance system, and not all state governments are following the same policy on digitalization.
Mostly all the e-governance applications and websites are available in English which is not understood by all and thus results in a language barrier issue.
India has a low literacy rate and even among that literate people very few are still not comfortable and have knowledge of information technology.
Recommendations of 2nd ARC on e-governanace:
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Building a Congenial Environment
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Building a congenial environment is a sine qua non for successful implementation of e-Governance initiatives. This should be achieved by
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Identification of e-Governance Projects and Prioritisation
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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has defined four stages of e-government Projects, each one more demanding than the next. These are:
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Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)
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The basic idea behind such re-engineering is to avail of the opportunity provided by ICT in transforming governmental processes and not just in modifying them.
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Capacity Building and Creating Awareness
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The success of an e-Governance project would depend on building human capacities in terms of necessary knowledge and skills to conceptualize, initiate, implement and sustain e-Governance initiatives across government as also on the ultimate use by citizens of the facilities created.
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Implementation
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· Breaking up entire e-Governance projects into components/ activities
· Planning each activity in detail · Allocating resources, both human and financial · Commencement of activities as per the plan and continuous tracking · Need-based mid-course correction
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Monitoring and Evaluation
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· Monitoring of e-Governance projects should be done by the implementing organization during implementation in the manner in which project monitoring is done for large infrastructure projects. E
· Evaluation of success or failure of e-Governance projects may be done by independent agencies on the basis of parameters fixed beforehand.
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Protecting Critical Information Infrastructure Assets
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Conclusion
- e-Governance is getting momentum in India, but public awareness and the digital divide are important issues to be addressed.
- The success of e-Governance measures largely depends on the availability of high-speed internet, and the nation-wide roll-out of 5G technology in the near future will strengthen our resolve.
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